


Planting Home Flowers At The New Hearth

by gala_apples



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Episode Tag, Multi, Triadverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6239584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gala_apples/pseuds/gala_apples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ronon has put up with years of Earthers prioritizing and applauding their culture over all others. He's not going to let it happen this time. Not when he knows Sateda is superior.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Planting Home Flowers At The New Hearth

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day one of triadverse week, prompt world building. If you'd like more info on the verse, have a [FAQ.](http://triadverse.tumblr.com/post/86154454124/triad-verse-faq)
> 
> Part of the beginning dialogue is taken from 5.09, Tracker.

Ronon’s doing some warming stretches in one of the many identical rooms that has been generally co-opted by the Marines for exercise when Rodney comes in. Ronon’s the only one in the room, so the scientist has to want him. “What?”

“Okay. Here’s the thing. I’ve been thinking, and I need to know your intentions.”

“Intentions?” Is that a Earther thing, a custom or something, something ‘everyone’ knows, except for how only the people of one particular planet know? The Earthers do that a lot. Teyla says it’s probably because they’re not used to gating to completely separate cultures with little effort, so it’s harder for them to conceptualise people not having shared references. Ronon sometimes thinks they’re just plain rude.

“With Jennifer.”

If this is some Earther thing, he probably doesn’t want any part of it. So many of them have such weird interests. Better to answer in the negative, just in case. If it turns out it’s something he does care about, John will let him know. “I don’t have any Intentions.”

“Oh. Okay. Good.”

Rodney turns to leave, and Ronon’s suddenly not done with this yet. He never dared think he could have a triad again, not with Sateda lost, but this could be an opportunity, possibly. Who knows what kind of ritual Rodney might be talking about? Maybe Ronon wants to have Intentions. Maybe it’s the first step towards having a family again. “Wait. What do you mean by Intentions?”

“I mean are you interested in her in a romantic fashion?”

So evidently it’s not Intentions with a capital. That’s a disappointment, sharper than it should be. “No,” he answers poorly, too focused on keeping his facade.

“Good,” Rodney says, and starts to exit for the second time.

“Wait.”

“What?” Rodney comes back, but he’s starting to get annoyed. Ronon can tell. He’s had a lot of missions to learn the differences in Rodney’s tones.

Ronon puts one end of the rod on the floor and leans on the top of it. “Maybe I do ...have intentions.”

McKay groans.

“Do _you_ have intentions?”

McKay rolls his eyes. “Yes, well, of _course_ I do. That's why I was _asking_ you.”

“So what are we gonna do about it?” Ronon knows for a fact that Earth doesn’t have a triad culture, their relationships are made solely out of primer couples. Ronon has absolutely no experience dealing in two people liking one person and that not being alright.

Once Rodney makes it clear there’s no traditional Earther protocol, Ronon lifts the stick off the ground and swings it gently in Rodney's direction. It’s as good a solution as any in his book. Rodney of course flinches back a little. He opens his mouth too. “I'm not gonna _fight_ you for her, if that's what you're thinking. I'm not gonna step aside, either, so we're just gonna have to let _her_ decide.”

Ronon can agree to that. So he does.

“Okay. So... may the best man win.”

Rodney caps his statement by thrusting his arm out. There are a dozen things Ronon could do with that. The move he decides to make is the one that will give him the most long term satisfaction. Though, to be honest, there’s a lot of short term satisfaction too. 

When Ronon grasps Rodney’s forearm and pulls him in the expression on Rodney’s face is great. He could laugh out loud, he really could.

“Keller’s not going to date you if you rip my arm off.”

“You’re being stupid,” Ronon informs him.

“Excuse me!”

Yeah, it figures Rodney doesn’t want to hear that. Rodney’s life revolves around people thinking he’s smart.

“You’ve watched football with Sheppard. More than one person wins.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re trying to say and frankly-”

“We’ll both be best men. We’ll both win.”

“Maybe on Sateda it was normal for people to have harems, but here on planet Earth- Okay, no, we are Lanteans, but realistically speaking...”

Ronon knows Rodney will babble forever if he lets him. So the best thing would be to not. He tugs Rodney in by the grip on his arm and kisses him. It’s not a gesture of affection on all the worlds he’s been on, but Earthers do it a lot. Some of their legends even believe a kiss can raise the dead. Surely Rodney will accept it.

“I don’t understand.”

Rodney must be extremely out of it, because it doesn’t even look like it’s physically paining him to admit a lack of comprehension. On the rare occasion that offworld Ancient junk confuses him he’s always got a look like he’s being trampled to death. Ronon’s not sure how he wants to explain though. He’s not a poet, now. Evoking feeling with words is no longer a skill of his, no longer his task. That’s Teyla with respectful bows, and sometimes Sheppard with an easy meaningless grin. So Ronon kisses Rodney a second time.

“You kissing me again does nothing to explain!” Rodney shouts. This time his words have more bite. Good. It’s unsettling, the other way.

Ronon sighs. He knows how much Rodney hates the anthropologists and their ‘soft science’. The man’s not going to want to hear about how triad culture is so much more balanced, so much less selfish, how Sateda was built on the concept of marriages that don’t splinter up the middle. Instead he says something Rodney might actually hear. “We don’t need to battle if she likes us both.”

“Oh, and what do you propose we do? Walk straight up to her, tap her on the shoulder and ask if she wants to date both of us?”

Ronon shrugs. That sounds good to him. Obviously the standard ‘primer couple fall in love with their perfect third’ relationship progression isn’t going to work here, not when they both like Jennifer simultaneously.

“This is utter nonsense.” 

Rodney wrenches his arm out of his grip and walks out. Ronon shakes his head. Stupid McKay. He’ll just have to make sure Rodney feels as seduced as Jennifer will.

*

His next attempt goes better. He meets Jennifer in transit from the medical labs to her room. Ronon makes the choice to be verbally bold, not physically. “Do you like threesomes?” He thinks that’s what the Earthers call it, though they bafflingly think it’s a kinky fetish thing rather than either a standard, or just being unconcerned and apathetic about it, like most of Pegasus.

Jennifer almost trips on thin air then starts to stammer through an answer of Earth customs with a look on her face. It’s an expression Ronon’s seen many times before. It says ‘this is not my field, but I will attempt to make the ignorant Pegasus-born understand’, and the results are usually questionable. Ronon’s still not sure why half the Earthers say soccer and the other half football. In any case, Ronon’s not looking for a lecture on customs. 

“No. Do _you_ like threesomes?” He gently pushes on her chest with his fingertips. It’s completely non-erotic, but it’s contact. 

She rocks on her feet a little with the touch, so maybe not as gentle as he thought. It still surprises him how weak people are sometimes. For a minute he thinks Jennifer’s not going to answer, and then “in college my boyfriend thought the idea was really hot. We used to play this game where he’d point to a random person and we’d guess what they liked in bed. But we never followed through. I still- On Sateda did-”

Ronon interrupts. He’s perfectly willing to explain the romantic methodology of Sateda, but later. Once they’re sharing an awkwardly square table during a first date meal. “You like Rodney?”

“Against all common sense, yes.”

“You liked making out with me.”

“Yes, but it was heat of the moment and-”

“Rodney’s not as straight as he thinks he is.” Actually that goes for all Earthers. Ronon’s noticed they’re all very quick to assign meaning to attraction and think some are okay and some aren’t. 

“You think the three of us should have a threesome?” Jennifer questions him incredulously.

“Yes,” he says simply. That’s exactly what he thinks.

“Look. If I’m being honest I find that idea incredibly hot. But I’m not the one you’ll have to convince, and we both know Rodney doesn’t often listen to other people’s opinions.”

“Can you be at his room at eight?”

“Rodney’s not even going to be out of his lab by then. But fine. I’ll be there. Barring an emergency, of course."

Ronon shrugs. Chances are if there’s an emergency Sheppard or McKay will have something to do with it, and he’ll be busy too. Aside from that though, he’ll be springing a date -a proper, _normal_ Satedaen date- on the both of them. There will never be a better chance than this to get a bit of his home back.


End file.
